Alternate history | Alison Morton Author

Speaking at conferences - the truth

Alison speaking at the International Writers’ Festival, Dublin

Whether you’re invited or have submitted a pitch to speak at a conference it’s the same on the day. You have a mass of faces in front of you. You re alone in the arena and the lions are pacing back and forth, tongues salivating. The be-tunicked and be-toga-ed are watching, a smile on their […]

Marian Thorpe in 'Exile' On Shining Wings

Today I’m delighted to welcome Marian L Thorpe to my blog today. Taught to read at the age of three, words have been central to Marian’s life for as long as she can remember. A novelist, poet, and essayist, Marian has several degrees, none of which are related to writing. After two careers as […]

March news – It's all been happening!

Dark days are on us again with the invasion of Ukraine. Romans can’t always hold their heads up in this respect, but this is 2022 Europe. Such a thing should no longer even be considered, let alone happen. The International Committee of the Red Cross is already active, bringing relief inside and outside Ukraine. […]

Writing Challenge Day 27: What's your favourite trope?

Strictly, a literary trope is a rhetorical or figurative device, via word, phrase or an image, for artistic effect. Today, it’s also come to be used for describing commonly recurring literary and rhetorical devices and motifs in creative works.

Right, now we’ve got the formal stuff out of the way, let’s look at how it […]

Writing Challenge Day 22: What's your current word count?

Word count is something writers can and do obsess about!

In fact, it can become a tyranny which I wrote about here. (There are cats and orangutans.)

The new Roma Nova book I’m working on (introduced here) is progressing steadily, if slowly. Word count is now up to 18,000 words, double what it was on […]